Vae victis
"Vae victis," often misspelled "Vae Victus," was uttered in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Defiance. It was an ancient tongue (Latin) phrase alternately translated as "suffering to the conquered" or "woe to the conquered," and the battle cry of the vampire Kain. Profile *'Category:' Recurring term (Terms) *'Introduced in:' Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) *'Appearances:' ** Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain ** Legacy of Kain: Defiance Profile Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain In Blood Omen, Kain typically cried "Vae victis" when delivering maximum damage with his combo attacks – for instance, his triple-swing combo with the Iron Sword. Kain also invoked the phrase at the beginning and the end of his odyssey to restore the Pillars of Nosgoth. Painfully transfixed in the Underworld after his assassination, he explained that it meant "suffering to the conquered." Here, he acknowledged the irony that his favored motto now applied to him, suffering and conquered alike. Later, when confronting the Dark Entity, he screamed the words in anger as he attacked. Legacy of Kain: Defiance "Vae victis" made an eventual return in Defiance, again featuring as Kain's battle cry. He occasionally spoke the phrase while feeding the Reaver, punctuating his victories in combat. Vae Victus (Vae Victis) at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) When Kain encountered and fought Raziel in Avernus Cathedral, Raziel ironically turned the old idiom against Kain at the climax of their battle. He uttered "Vae victis" as he tore the Heart of Darkness from Kain's chest, crying "woe to the conquered" in triumph over his defeated foe. Development In the real world, [[wikipedia:Vae victis|''"Vae victis"]] is a Latin expression translated as ''"woe to the conquered." The phrase finds its origin in an anecdote concerning the 4th century BC Celt leader Brennus, who led an attack on Rome. Dark Chronicle's Ardeth Silvereni relays the story: ''"Vae victis" was added to the Legacy of Kain mythos by D. G. Chichester, a contributor to Blood Omen's story. Series creator Denis Dyack reflected that "once Chichester suggested this as a battle cry we knew it was perfect for Kain." After its release, Silicon Knights admitted that the phrase was mispronounced in the game. Dyack explained that they could not find anyone to confirm which was the authentic form, and simply chose to use the take which they felt sounded the best. He said, "I believe voice actor [[Simon Templeman]] did get it right in one of the takes. We just never used it because we didn't know better." The official Blood Omen scripts, publicly released by The Lost Worlds in 2012, reveal that the human Kain was planned to scream "Vae victis" in dialogue for the deleted assassination cinematic. Blood Omen Scripts at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln) Murdering Kain FMV at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln) An alternate take of the phrase exists, unused, in the game's files, but its position in the data implies it was intended for the Battle of the Last Stand. Blood Omen: Unused Dialogue at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) "Vae victis" is conspicuous in its absence from Blood Omen 2. Miscellaneous Deleted Dialogue at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln) Templeman recorded two new takes of the battle cry for Crystal Dynamics – one in its Blood Omen form, and the other in a different style – but both remain unused in the game's data. Ben Lincoln of The Lost Worlds speculates that "perhaps when Blood Omen 2 was made, a pronunciation couldn't be decided upon." Defiance ultimately remained consistent with the variation originally used in Blood Omen. Notes *Some official sources have historically used the incorrect spelling "Vae Victus," including [[Legacy of Kain Wiki:Sources/Dark Chronicle: Silicon Knights' Blood Omen FAQ|Silicon Knights' Blood Omen FAQ]] and the ''Nosgoth'' official website. Despite this, the official scripts for both Blood Omen and Defiance adhere to the real-world "Vae victis" spelling, with only subtitles for Defiance offering "Vae victus" as an alternative. LoK Defiance - Dialogue at Nosgothic Realm (by Tenaya) Community manager George Kelion of Square Enix Europe argued that "*technically* it's not even Latin, but rather "Ancient Tongue", so I suppose that means we have free license." See also * Vae Victus (Vae Victis) at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn). References Browse Category:Mythology Category:Mythology/Narrative Category:Browse Category:Blood Omen Category:Blood Omen 2 Category:Defiance